


Like Puzzle Peices We Interlock, Like Diamonds We Are Strong

by TheAvidReader_SometimesWriter



Series: The Heros We Weren't Made to Be [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:05:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7799290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAvidReader_SometimesWriter/pseuds/TheAvidReader_SometimesWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven is still working on how to get rid of A.L.I.E. Clarke, Lexa, and Anya are still fighting their war on the enemy they now have a name to give. Arc Industries. The place that created them. The deeper they dig, the more they learn, but maybe something's should be left in the dark. Will the trio be able to handle everything they find as the world Clarke thought she knew begins to turn upside down?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Clarke woke up to semi-familiar surroundings and sat up to examine them further before her brain connected the dots.

‘ _The fort. I’m at the fort.’_ She told herself, stretching her still tired limbs.

“You’re awake.” A voice noted from not far away. Blue eyes scanned the room until they met a gentle green pair.

“How long was I asleep for Lex?” Clarke yawned.

“Half a day, but you needed it. Anya went to go check on things in Polis and escort Sinclair here to help Raven. Aden’s become her shadow.” Lexa smiled.

“How close are we?” Clarke asked.

“Raven thinks she’s got it but she needs Sinclair to help her build it. We’ll get him back Clarke. If not for you then for Octavia.” Lexa nodded, moving to sit next to Clarke on the bunk.

“I want to take one more crack at Bellamy.” Clarke told her, rising to her feet and setting her jaw.

‘ _I need this. I need to do this.’_ She repeated mentally.

“Clarke...” Lexa began, well aware of Clarke’s internal dialog.

“I’m ready this time. I need to do this Lexa. Just one last try.” Clarke insisted firmly.

“Ok. Fine. Let’s go tell the others.” Lexa gave in and stood as well. The two left the bunk room, trekking through the maze of halls until they found the control room. Raven sat at a desk, fiddling with some metal and wire odds and ends, building something Clarke couldn’t even try to guess at. Aden sat near Raven, eagerly handing her tools when she called for them, or putting them away when she handed them back to him. Lincoln was talking quietly with Nyko across the room and Octavia was nowhere to be found.

“Look who’s up again.” Raven grinned, looking up from her work.

“Hey.” Clarke smiled back. Aden came and hugged her, the action conveying the relief that works just couldn’t.

“Where’s O?” Clarke asked.

“It was her turn to guard Bellamy.” Nyko answered, pausing his conversation with Lincoln.

“I need to talk to him again.” Clarke announced. Everyone looked at her worriedly.

“I just want to try one more time… I’ll be ok this time. I know what we’re up against.” Clarke promised.

“Don’t tell it what we’re up to or it might try to hurt Bell so we can’t save him.” Raven warned. Clarke nodded and moved to leave the room. Lincoln, Lexa, and Nyko all followed her through the halls to the heavy looking door Octavia stood firmly in front of.

“Stand aside O. I just want to take one more crack at him.” Clarke ordered, setting her jaw.

“Are you sure you’re ok Clarke?” Octavia asked gently. Clarke could see the concern in her friend’s eyes.

“I will be. I need to do this. If I get out of hand, you, Lincoln, and Lexa will be there with me. But I want two of you out here guarding with Nyko.” Clarke promised.

“Ok.” Octavia nodded, splitting into three and then opening the door. Clarke, Lincoln, Lexa, and one Octavia entered the room where Bellamy Blake was bound, blindfolded, and gagged to a chair. The door swung closed behind them with a heavy thud. When the door was secure, Octavia removed Bellamy’s ear muffs first, followed by the gag and blindfold. Bellamy opened and closed his jaw a few times to release the stiffness that had formed.

“Back for another licking Princess? You must just really like to suffer.” Bellamy greeted cockily.

‘ _Octavia Blake. Class II. Threat level, moderate. Subdue-able, not in current condition. Lincoln Forest. Class II. Threat level, high. Subdue-able, not in current condition or without significant back up. Proceed with caution. Alexandria Woods. Hunt name, Heda. Class VII. Threat level, high. Subdue-able, not in current condition or without back up. Do not engage. Clarke Griffin. Hunt name, Sky Princess. Class VIII. Threat level, deadly. Warnings, extremely volatile, use of deadly force against us is deemed justified. Subdue-able, Do not attempt. Do not engage under any circumstances. Proceed with extreme caution.’_ A.L.I.E’s analysis read in his mind. Bellamy was both surprised and alarmed that Clarke and Lexa had both jumped up a class in such a short time.

“You’re in no place to be so cocky, Blake.” Clarke replied, sounding bored.

“I don’t know. I seemed to have the upper hand in our last visit if you remember correctly.” Bellamy reminded.

“If you can call it that. If I remember right, you almost got killed for being such a confident asshole. But I’m not here for you. Not this time Belly boy. I’m here for you friend.” Clarke shrugged, watching him closely.

“Friend? I’m here alone. You killed my squad.” Bellamy huffed.

“That I did, but you have someone with you. Someone only you can see. A woman in a red dress perhaps? Or am I wrong A.L.I.E? I do believe that’s what they call you.” Clarke continued. She knew she was correct when she saw Bellamy stiffen and pause.

‘ _She knows? How does she know?’_ A.L.I.E wondered in his mind.

“What’s wrong? Can the bitch not speak for herself?” Clarke taunted, moving closer.

“ _C_ l _a_ r _k_ e _G_ r _i_ f _f_ i _n._ I _k_ n _o_ w _a_ l _l_ a _b_ o _u_ t _y_ o _u._ ” Bellamy spoke but his voice sounded unnatural, almost robotic and Clarke knew exactly whom she was speaking to.

“A.L.I.E I presume. Just what is it you think you know about me?” Clarke asked calmly.

“ _C_ l _a_ r _k_ e _E_ l _i_ z _a_ G _r_ i _f_ f _i_ n. _G_ e _n_ e _t_ i _c_ o _f_ f _s_ p _r_ i _n_ g _o_ f _f_ o _r_ m _e_ r _A_ r _c_ c _o_ u _n_ c _i_ l _m_ e _m_ b _e_ r _J_ a _c_ o _b_ C _h_ r _i_ s _G_ r _i_ f _f_ i _n_ a _n_ d _c_ u _r_ r _e_ n _t_ A _r_ c _c_ o _u_ n _c_ i _l_ m _e_ m _b_ e _r_ A _b_ i _g_ a _l_ e _P_ a _i_ g _e_ G _r_ i _f_ f _i_ n. _A_ g _e_ : E _i_ g _h_ t _e_ e _n_ y _e_ a _r_ s. _C_ l _a_ s _s_ V _I_ I _I_. H _u_ n _t_ n _a_ m _e_ , S _k_ y _P_ r _i_ n _c_ e _s_ s. _B_ i _r_ t _h_ o _r_ i _g_ i _n_ , l _a_ b _t_ h _i_ r _t_ e _e_ n _o_ f _A_ r _c_ I _n_ d _u_ s _t_ r _i_ e _s_. O _r_ i _g_ i _n_ a _l_ a _c_ t _i_ v _e_ g _e_ n _e_ c _o_ u _n_ t, _t_ w _o_. C _u_ r _r_ e _n_ t _a_ c _t_ i _v_ e _g_ e _n_ e _c_ o _u_ n _t_ , e _i_ g _h_ t. _E_ s _c_ a _p_ e _d_ A _r_ c _I_ n _d_ u _s_ t _r_ i _e_ s _a_ t _a_ g _e_ f _o_ u _r_ w _i_ t _h_ a _s_ s _i_ s _t_ a _n_ c _e_ f _r_ o _m_ J _a_ c _o_ b _G_ r _i_ f _f_ i _n_ , A _n_ y _a_ D _i_ c _h_ e _n_ W _o_ o _d_ s, _C_ l _a_ s _s_ : V, _h_ u _n_ t _n_ a _m_ e, _S_ h _i_ e _l_ d _a_ n _d_ A _l_ e _x_ a _n_ d _r_ i _a_ A _l_ i _c_ i _a_ W _o_ o _d_ s, _C_ l _a_ s _s_ V _I_ I, _h_ u _n_ t _n_ a _m_ e: _H_ e _d_ a. _B_ o _t_ h _g_ e _n_ e _t_ i _c_ o _f_ f _s_ p _r_ i _n_ g _o_ f _h_ e _a_ d _s_ c _i_ e _n_ t _i_ s _t_ G _u_ s _t_ u _s_ A _l_ e _k_ s _H_ a _l_ l _o_ w _s_ a _n_ d _f_ o _r_ m _e_ r _h_ e _a_ d _s_ c _i_ e _n_ t _i_ s _t_ L _o_ r _e_ l _e_ i _R_ e _k_ h _a_ T _s_ i _n_ g- _W_ o _o_ d _s_.” A.L.I.E relayed robotically. Clarke paused. She hadn’t known who her mother was. Jake never mentioned her and whenever little Clarke had asked he’d avoided answering.

“My mother’s alive?” Clarke asked hesitantly.

“Y _e_ s. _S_ h _e_ w _a_ n _t_ s _y_ o _u_ b _a_ c _k_ v _e_ r _y_ b _a_ d _l_ y _C_ l _a_ r _k_ e.” A.L.I.E nodded.

“That’s enough.” Lexa growled in warning, pulling Clarke behind her and throwing a hard punch at Bellamy’s face, knocking him unconscious.

“Lexa?” Clarke asked confused.

“Secure him again. We wait for Raven and Sinclair to finish their work. When Anya returns, send her to me in the bunk room.” Lexa ordered, ignoring Clarke’s question and pulling her from the room. There was silence as Lexa led them back to the bunk room, pulling Clarke in and closing the door firmly behind them.

“Lexa what the hell?!” Clarke demanded, wrenching her arm free of the older girls hold. Lexa remained where she was, not looking at Clarke.

“What was that? Why did you do that? She was talking! She could’ve given us information!” Clarke continued angrily.

“She was lying to you Clarke. She would’ve lied to you. Or at least not told you the full truth.” Lexa mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked, her anger mixing with confusion.

“You want to know more about Abby Griffin? Ask Anya. She remembers.” Lexa said firmly, curling up on one of the bunks.

‘ _Ask Anya. She remembers.’_


	2. The Darkness of Truths Hidden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke interrogates Anya

Clarke paced relentlessly until Anya finally returned and entered the bunk room.

“Clarke? Lexa said to report straight here when I got back…” Anya began, sounding confused.

“Did you know who my mother was?” Clarke asked. Anya paused, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Clarke… I…” Anya stammered.

“Answer the question Anya.” Clarke growled.

“Yes. I’ve always known. Jake and I were trying to protect you.” Anya relented.

“I thought she was dead… I always just assumed she was dead because of how my dad looked when I asked about her… But she’s alive. She’s been alive this whole time… And she wants me… She wants me back.” Clarke began in a low voice.

“Trust me. That isn’t what you want Clarke. I’ve known your mother a long time. She isn’t how you think she is.” Anya cut her off.

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked.

“You’re going to want to sit down…” Lexa’s voice came softly from where she’d sat up on the bunk. Clarke hesitated before moving to sit next to her.

“You want to know the truth? The whole truth?” Anya asked. Clarke nodded.

“Ok. Then listen closely. I was fourteen when Lexa was ‘born’. More like made. None of were truly born. I was one of the first agents made. In a batch of 20. Lexa and I share our genetic mother, Lorelei. She was a demon. We weren’t treated like kids. We weren’t even treated like people. We were poked and prodded, cut open, sown back up. Put through our paces in the worst ways. Not everyone made it. I was fourteen when Lexa came into the picture. She was my sister. She is. Lorelei was evil. She had no mercy on baby Lexa. She was no mother. Experimenting on both of us until we bled black. Our father, Gustus however, he was kind. Well when he could be. He always patched us up, or brought us sweets when we had a rough day. He would help us through our nightmares and promise us a day when we could see the sky. When we wouldn’t have to be afraid.” Anya sighed.

“We didn’t know he was our father. I always had my suspicions. The Arc council was the group of people in charge of everything. They were the ones that oversaw everything. Always watching, usually with great interest whenever one of us was cut open. They let them torture us until any of our powers manifested. Lexa and I were built to be two parts of a group of three. To become the finest agents ever made. We had our genes all sorts of fucked up until we bled black. Until we had more than one active gene. And then, when Lexa was two, you came into the picture. Abby Griffin is a member of the Arc council. Her husband, your father Jake, was too. But Jake didn’t know the horrors of the labs. He worked the business side, dealing with investors and resources and stuff. He and your mom donated their genes for the experiment and thus you came to be. They fucked with your genes before you were even born. Made them unstable as they could. When your father found out what was going on, what was truly going on, he confronted your mother. She took him to the lab, where Lorelei had you and threatened your life to try and keep him in line. But Jake Griffin was not a stupid man. He played nice, and he waited, plotting with Gustus and me, until we came up with a plan to get you and Lexa out of there.” Anya paused, watching Clarke.

“On the way out, the day of our escape, three things happened that weren’t part of the plan. One: I killed Lorelei. I murdered her as brutally as I could. I couldn’t let her hurt anyone else. Two: Abby Griffin injected you with the serum that activated the genes to make you require Lexa’s blood to live. We thought for the longest time that she helped program the Griffin two but now we know that was wrong. And three: Gustus didn’t leave with us. He wanted to stay behind to help any others he could. After that we went our ways apart. I took Lexa. Jake took you. We didn’t know what your mother had done to you until you started getting sick every time you used your powers. Since that day she had a hit out on your dad and a highest priority recovery order on you. So yeah. She wants you back. But Abigale Griffin has no children. To her you are not her child. You are her property.” Anya finished.

“Th-They cut you open..?” Clarke asked shakily. Anya lifted up her shirt, exposing multiple long scars crisscrossing her abdomen.

“Multiple times. With no anesthesia.” Anya answered.

“Lexa..?” Clarke asked timidly.

“Under my tattoo, on my back.” Was the soft reply.

“B-But why…?” Clarke whimpered.

“We were supposed to be weapons. Gustus and Jake saw us as people and because of that, they saved us and crippled the company. With us gone and Lorelei dead, the Arc has been set back at least ten years. But A.L.I.E has proved that they are catching up.” Anya explained, sitting on her knees in front of Clarke, holding the trembling girls hands in her own. Lexa wrapped her arms around Clarke. She knew the little blonde wouldn’t take it as easily as she had. There was a long silence and Lexa swore she could see the wheels in Clarkes head turning as she took it all in.

“So what do we do..?” Clarke asked hollowly after a while.

“For now, we rest more and keep our faith in Raven Reyes. Something will happen soon.” Lexa answered. She felt Clarke nod against her and waited with Anya for Clarke to fall back asleep.

“That went well.” Lexa sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of Clarke’s head.

“Clarkes always been the more emotional one. She just needs to process it all.” Anya told her. Lexa could only nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this one was short and pretty dark so I'm sorry for that but I needed to get that information in there. Thank you for the comments I've gotten so far, you guys are great. There is so much more to come as the plot thickens. I hope you'll stay with me.  
> \- Avid


	3. Raven V.S. The Woman in the Red Dress, As If Raven Reyes Would Need More Than One Round. Pfft. Please.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven Vs A.L.I.E. Guess who wins

Anya and Lexa moved from the bunk room to the control center and asked Aden to sit with Clarke until she woke up. As if sensing the worry in their tones he nodded and hurried off.

“Where are we Raven?” Lexa asked once he was gone.

“Sinclair and I are just throwing on the finishing touches for what I’ve decided to call, the decommissioner.” Raven replied, not looking up from her work.

“And how will it work?” Anya wondered, eyeing the device cautiously. Any and all projects worked on or completed by Raven Reyes were capable of exploding, one way or another in Anya’s mind.

“We’re going to use a short range emp to fry the chip without frying Bellamy’s brain. Hopefully. If it works, all we’ll have to do is cut the back of his neck a little to let the sludge that used to be the chip ooze out and once its clean we can stitch him back up. We need to keep him bound up and blinded while we do it so the AI won’t know what hit her. That way she can’t fight back or try to kill Bellamy.” Sinclair explained, stopping Raven from explaining. He knew they needed to understand and all of Ravens mechanical terms would only confuse everyone.

“And if it doesn’t work?” Lexa demanded.

“Then it’ll just Taser the poor bastard and we’re back to square one.” Raven shrugged with a slight smile.

“Last question.” Lexa sighed. Raven nodded for her to ask.

“Are we going to wait for Clarke to wake up or are we doing this now?” Lexa wondered. The entire room fell silent.

“We could try it now… And if it fails just not tell her we tried yet…” Octavia tried weakly. Everyone looked at her before agreeing with a nod.

“Alright. Raven, Nyko, Lincoln, and Sinclair, you are coming to the vault with me. Lincoln will guard the door. Anya and Octavia, I need you here in the control incase Clarke finds her way here before we’re done. Anya, you also need to keep tabs on things at camp too so it’s best if you remain here.” Lexa decided.

“What? No way! Bellamy’s my brother! I should be there!” Octavia growled.

“I need you here to help detain Clarke. You are too close to this and I don’t want you to interfere.” Lexa told her firmly. Octavia sighed before agreeing. Everyone else nodded and took their places.

Lexa led her group from the room after allowing Nyko to retrieve what he needed. They marched to the vault where Bellamy was being held and Lincoln wretched the door open, allowing them all to pass through. It closed with a slam behind them and Lincoln stood guard on the other side.

“Let’s do this.” Lexa ordered, nodding to Raven and Sinclair. The two hurried quietly over to Bellamy getting in position. They all knew they had to do this quickly as not to alert A.L.I.E to their actions.

“Three. Two. One.” Lexa counted slowly. At one, Raven pressed the gun looking device to the back of Bellamy’s neck and squeezed the trigger. There was a low hum and his body went tense for a few seconds before going limp. Raven moved the device away and let Nyko make the incision where the scan had shown the chip to be. A bubbling black liquid dribbled from the incision for almost thirty seconds before stopping. Nyko hurried to clean the wound up before sowing it back up and taping a patch of gauze over the stitches.

“Now what?” Raven asked. Lexa paused before deciding.

“Un-blind fold and gag him.” Lexa ordered. Raven nodded, removing the items along with the ear muffs.

“Bellamy? Bellamy Blake?” Lexa asked cautiously. Slowly, the boy’s eyes fluttered open as he began to stir.

“Commander? Raven? What..? Where..? Oh god Clarke! Is she ok?! Is she safe? I got her as far away from them as I could!” He began to panic, sobs ripping from his chest.

“She is safe. What’s the last thing you remember?” Lexa asked gently. Bellamy seemed relieved and nodded taking a deep breath to steady himself.

“W-We were on a guard assignment… Clarke, Jake, and I. We got word of another mutant… we were scouting the area and hoping to get to them before the agents… Commander it was a trap… We were ambushed and horribly outnumbered… Jake… He… He took a bullet for Clarke… He didn’t make it Lexa… Clarke… Oh god Clarke… she wouldn’t leave him… She generated a force field or something… Pushed the agents back at least three quarters of a mile… I had to knock her out… I tried to get her as far away as I could… Then I went back… I had to keep them away from her… I promised Jake I’d protect her if anything happened to him… He made me promise that morning… Said he he’d had a bad feeling in his gut…” Bellamy relayed, sniffling and crying miserably.

“Oh Bell…” Raven mumbled, hugging him tightly.

“That’s the last thing you remember?” Lexa asked. He nodded, dismayed.

“Why?” He sniffed.

“Bellamy… That was almost four years ago.” Lexa began, gently.

“Wh-what..? N-No… That was just yesterday…” Bellamy shook his head, furrowing his eye-brows in confusion.

“I’m afraid so. You’ve been missing since that day. Clarke made it back safe but not unscathed. We found her in a river, badly wounded not far from Polis. You’ve been missing up until a week ago. You and a battalion of Agents were too close to the camp. Clarke destroyed the rest of your unit, saving only you. And under her word, Raven and Octavia brought you here. You were an agent Bellamy Blake.” Lexa explained. He looked at her with wide terror filled eyes.

“O-Octavia… She’s..?” He asked.

“She’s safe. She’s here. While you were an Agent I can imagine you said and did somethings you didn’t mean. You said some horrible things to Clarke too about Jakes death.” Raven scolded softly.

“I-I’m so so sorry… I don’t remember… Oh god what have I DONE..? Three years…” Bellamy broke down into sobs again.

“Shhh…” Raven hummed, holding his head to her chest and stroking his hair, letting him cry.

“We’re going to keep you bound up while we run more tests, but I’ll let Octavia come and see you shortly. You’ll be freed once we’re sure you’re ok. Please apologize to Clarke when you see her too…” Lexa warned him. Bellamy nodded, understanding the safety measures. He definitely didn’t want to be let free if he could still hurt his friends.

“Thank you commander.” He whispered. Lexa nodded and left the room, telling Lincoln of their progress but also telling him to stay by the door. He nodded and Lexa moved back to the control room.

“Well?” Octavia demanded impatiently upon seeing Lexa.

“It worked, but the last thing he remembers was the day Jake Griffin passed. He has no memories of the past three years. Raven, Nyko and Sinclair are going to run more tests to see what’s going on. We’re keeping him bound up until we’re sure he is himself again. But I told him you’d go to see him when you could.” Lexa replied. To her surprise, the smaller brunette hugged her tightly, mumbling a grateful thank you before running off to the vault.

“Any sign of Clarke?” Lexa asked Anya.

“No. She’s probably still asleep. But that’s ok. Let her rest. God knows we’ll all need it. I feel like the storm has yet to fully come for us.” Anya sighed. Lexa nodded. Anya was right. Maybe this was just the calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here's the next bit, I hope you all enjoyed it. I hope to have more up soon. Thanks as always for reading and a huge thank you to everyone who leaves me such great comments, You guys are so so amazing you make my day, Thank you! Stay tuned for more,  
> \- Avid


	4. The Day Jake Left Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Bellamy talk and cry

Aden somewhat understood why Anya and Lexa had sent him to keep and eye on Clarke for them, though he couldn't help but be disappointed. He'd really wanted to see the machine he'd watched Raven and Sinclair build, in action.

"Has she woken at all?" Anya asked from the doorway sometime later.

"Did Ravens' machine work?" Aden asked in return.

"It's Raven. Of course it did. Despite what she may claim, we don't keep her around solely for her good looks. Ravens a genius. But don't tell her I said that, or her head may be the next thing that explodes." Anya smirked.

"Yeah, you're right." Aden shrugged.

"I bet you're just dying to know what happened. Go get something to eat and then bug Raven and Sinclair for a while. I'll deal with Clarke. Lexa said she'd drop by soon too." Anya told him, moving to take his place by the bed. Aden grinned and raced from the room. He was only gone for a few seconds before darting back in to give Anya a quick but tight hug around her middle before dashing off again in the direction of the control room. Anya shook her head with another smirk and sat down. She was making herself more comfortable when Clarke began to squirm and stir on the bed.

"Hey there blondie." Anya greeted softly. Clarke's initial response was a yawn as she stretched, her wings flaring behind her as she did.

"Where's Lexa?" She asked sleepily, scanning the room quickly.

"She's with the others, probably in the control room. She said she'd be around soon. Raven's gadget worked Clarke. We freed Bellamy while you slept." Anya told her.

"Is he ok?" Clarke demanded, rising from the bed.

"He's ok. The thing is... The last thing he remembers is the day we lost Jake. He doesn't remember anything from then to now. We don't know why yet, but Raven, Nyko, and Sinclair are working on their theories and running tests to see if we can learn anything else from him. For now we're keeping him locked up and secured. Once we're sure he's clean and cleared, we'll see about moving him back to Polis with everyone else." Anya explained, getting Clarke to sit back down as she spoke.

"I need to see him. I need to talk to him." Clarke growled firmly, daring Anya to try and stop her again. Anya sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"Alright, fine. But first let's go check on everyone else. Once we see what they're up to, you can go and talk to Bellamy." Anya conceded, rising to her feet and waiting for Clarke to follow. Clarke let Anya lead the way to the control room and smiled at the sight that met them. Raven was sitting and tinkering with some odd ends of wire and bits of metal seeming to be teaching Aden something with them. Clarke could only hope the mechanic wasn't teaching her younger brother to make anything explode. Sinclair and Nyko sat away from them in a corner, talking quietly to one another, Clarke assumed about Bellamy. Lincoln and Octavia were nowhere to be found and Lexa sat in front of the computers staring up at the monitors.

"Clarke!" Raven greeted, seeing her first. The mechanic swiftly rose to her feet and came over to Clarke, pulling her into a hug.

"We did it. It worked Clarke." Raven told her as she let Clarke go.

"Raven's awesome!" Aden chirruped from behind Raven, following her back to where they'd been working. Nyko and Sinclair had looked her way at Ravens exclamation and caught her eye, offering her a brief nod in greeting. She returned it and the two went back to their chatting.

"Clarke. How are you feeling?" Lexa purred, pulling Clarke close and holding her there. Clarke was silent as she buried her face in the side of Lexa's neck, taking in her scent and returning the embrace.

"I'm better now. I need to see Bellamy. He and I need to discuss somethings." Was Clarke's muffled reply.

"We're keeping him in the vault still. Just until Raven and the others finish with him." Lexa told her.

"I know Anya told me." Clarke nodded.

"We'll wait for Octavia to get back. She wanted some time with him. Lincoln's standing guard." Lexa explained finally releasing her. Octavia returned within the hour and instantly hugged Clarke tightly.

"He's back, Clarke! It's really Bell..." Octavia told her happily.

"I know. I'm glad, I missed him too." Clarke agreed with a smile. Clarke led Lexa and Anya to the vault, nodding in greeting to Lincoln. He opened the door, allowing the trio to step inside and then closed the door behind them. Lexa unbound Bellamy and they waited for him to readjust before speaking.

"Clarke... I'm so sorry about Jake... And I'm sorry for anything else I've done to hurt you... I don't remember... It wasn't me..." Bellamy began sadly.

"I know. It's ok Bell. You're right, it wasn't you. But I have some questions for you." Clarke soothed with a kind smile. He waited for her to continue, seeming relieved and more relaxed at her words.

"I know the last thing you remember is the day my dad died... So I won't press you for things you don't know. But I have some blanks from that day... Maybe you could fill them in for me. Walk me through your last day with us please."

"Clarke..." Lexa began hesitantly.

"No. Lexa I need this. It hurts, it's going to hurt... But I need this." Clarke cut her off, blue eyes meeting green and imploring the older girl to understand. Lexa bowed her head and Clarke looked back to Bellamy.

"Ok... Jake woke me up before you that morning... He said he had a bad feeling in his belly... And he made me promise that if anything happened, if anything went awry that I'd take you and run until we were safe again... He made me promise to choose you over him if given the choice... To only save you... A-and I did... I promised. And then when the Agents attacked... The promise was all I could think of. I had to keep you safe. For Jake... He was like a father to me too... He was the man I wanted to be like when I was grown. And then... And then Jake got hit..." Bellamy paused to collect himself for a few seconds.

"As he was going... He told me good bye... And that he was glad he got to say goodbye since so many who die don't get the chance... He told me that of all things... And then he was gone..." Clarke admitted softly. Bellamy gave her a watery smile.

"Then he was gone... And you clung to him crying... The Agents were closing in on us... And then you screamed. You just... You just snapped Clarke... I think that's what set off your force fields... Your first field pushed the Agents back at least a mile in every direction and kept them there. It was impressive but also really terrifying. You held onto Jake as if your hold could bring him back... I wish I could've... Things would've ended differently..." Bellamy sighed miserably. Clarke nodded and waited patiently for him to continue. She knew this was hard.

"I tried to get you to go... But I couldn't... I had to knock you out to pull you away from Jake... I'm so so sorry... I couldn't carry you both! I wasn't strong enough! I h-had to protect you... I promised Jake... I told him I'd leave him behind... And I did... I ran and brought you as far from them as I could... I tried to get you somewhere safe... I couldn't go with you even if I'd wanted to... I'd been stung... My fate was sealed at that point... So I got you to safety and then led them away... I ran as far as I could... I kept my promise..." Bellamy explained desperately, shaking with sobs. Tears streamed down his cheeks and Clarke could feel her own cascading down her face too. She moved close enough to hug him and the two held eachother tightly. Lexa and Anya stood away from them, letting them cry it out.

"You did what you had to do Bellamy... You kept your promise to dad... You made him proud... You did everything as right as you could... You saved my life... It's ok now. Raven, Sinclair, and Nyko are going to fix you up and then you can come home... Then you can come back to Polis with your family, everyone will be so happy to see you again." Clarke promised, wiping her face. Bellamy did the same and nodded with a small smile.

"Thank you Clarke." He whispered. Clarke moved back across the room to Lexa and Anya, pausing at the noise of hurried movement from behind her. Lexa easily reacted and flipped Bellamy onto his back, pinning him there as she called for Lincoln.

"Thank you commander..." He wheezed gratefully. Anya and Lincoln picked Bellamy up off the floor and secured him back to his chair.

"Are you ok?" Lexa asked warily.

"Yes. Thank you. I-I don't know what happened... I'd never hurt Clarke or any of you... I just... I suddenly was moving and..." He tried to explain, tearing up.

"It's ok Bell. It wasn't you. It was probably a bug or two left from A.L.I.E. Raven and the others will help you. They won't let you hurt anyone. Don't worry. After all this you can come home." Clarke soothed, understanding. He nodded relieved and thanked her softly. Clarke led Lexa and Anya back out of the vault, hearing Lincoln lock the door up behind them and moving back in front of it.

"Are you ok Clarke?" Lexa and Anya both asked. Clarke was silent for a minute or two as she kept walking.

"I don't know... But I will be... I just... I need to think..." Clarke replied hollowly.

"Alright. I'm going back up to the control room to radio in on Polis. I need to make sure everything's still running smoothly since we're here. That's where I'll be if you need me." Anya decided, placing a firm hand on Clarke's shoulder. She waited for the blond to nod in acknowledgment before leaving Clarke and Lexa alone. Clarke continued her walk with Lexa following silently a few feet behind her. She had a lot to think about now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back! I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting, here's the next chapter and there will be more to come soon. I meant to have this up earlier but my friends laptop kept crashing but I found a way, here we are. Thank you to everyone who left me comments and I hope to hear more from you lovely people now that I'm active again. Thank you as always for reading,
> 
> \- Avid


	5. Clarke's Storm Begins to Spin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke needs to think. Bounty hunters suck. Aden can breathe fire.

Lexa was silent as she followed Clarke around. She knew there must be a lot going through the girls head. She was content to wait and watch, readily available to help in any way Clarke might need her. Clarke led them outside and into the tree line.

"You should go back. I want to be alone for a while." Clarke said, not looking back at Lexa.

"Clarke..." Lexa hesitated.

"Go, Lexa." Clarke growled, stretching her wings.

"Please..." She added softly, before taking off from the ground. Clarke could only hope Lexa had done as she'd asked as she soared over the tree's. It had been a while since she'd had a good fly that hadn't been hauling ass away from whatever. Clarke adjusted to the air currents easily and began her route back to Polis. She needed time to herself, away from it all. They'd be ok without her for a night.

Clarke landed just outside of the compound and turned invisible, slipping easily into the encampment and making her way to Lexa's cabin. She let herself in and curled up on the bed, making herself visible again. She rolled herself up in the blankets and closed her eyes. She couldn't help the tears and tried to stifle her sobs as she clung to one of Lexa's pillows. She knew the others wanted to help but Clarke wanted to let her walls down alone and just cry it out. Being around Lexa or Anya would make it worse and that's not what she wanted right now.

When the tears were gone she felt hallow. Clarke never really took the time to mourn her fathers death. She could feel that it wasn't over yet. This storm inside her felt very far from over. The sooner she gets it out, the better, she decides and slips back out of the cabin and walks unseen through camp. She easily avoided crashing into anyone as her mind raced. She had so many questions and so few answers at this point it was just frustrating.

As soon as Clarke was clear of the camp, she took off at a hard run. She shapeshifted get into various things every so often to keep her speed steady. She ran until she was close to fort again and then ran around some more until she couldn't anymore and flopped down on the forest floor to rest for a while. When she woke up again, sun was setting and she was horribly dizzy and hot. Clarke pushed to her feet and stumbled a few steps, catching herself on a tree and waiting for the world to stop spinning. She heard faint movement from her left.

"L-Lex?" She asked quietly, too out of it to think about the possibility of it being anyone else. A heavy net was thrown on top of her and brought Clarke down onto all fours under its weight.

"What's wrong with her?" A male voice wondered.

"Who cares. They said alive, so this is just dumb luck." A second relied. Clarke could see two blurry figures moving closer. She was too weak to try and fight her way out of the net. She waited until they got closer and put up a force field. Clarke could feel her strength for the field waning and tried to think of a way out of this. She couldn't shapeshifter if she wanted to keep a field up and invisibility was out too, as they'd see the net move. She screamed as loud as she could, surprizing herself when the noise literally forced the figures back, taking some leaves off the surrounding shrubbery as well. The figures stayed back once the noise had stopped, their words becoming a dull buzzing noise as her force field began to flicker.

Suddenly fire lit up her attackers and more blurry figures rushed to her defense, the buzzing noise growing louder before getting soft again. The last thing she saw before it went black was worried green eyes.

Lexa had heard the scream coming form the woods and grabbed Anya and Aden. The trio arrived just in time to protect Clarke. Aden roared and shot a breath of fire angrily at the men while Anya set about removing the net. Clarke sat dazed in the middle of it all, passing out as soon as Lexa picked her up. She was burning up and sweating, far worse than even the last time. It was clear that she'd drastically over used her powers, presumably in self defense.

"Anya it's bad we need to go." Lexa warned, starting to panic slightly. Anya nodded and the three raced back to the fort. Aden ran to the control room to tell the other what had happened and send someone for the bodies, while Anya and Lexa rushed to the bunk room.

"Try letting her feed while I set up a cold bath. It might help with the fever." Anya ordered, dashing into the large bathroom. Lexa sat on one of the bunks and pulled out her knife. She made a relatively deep gash in her wrist and adjusted Clarke to let her feed. To her slight relief, Clarke drink from the wound, pulling away after she was done.

"Anything?" Anya asked from the doorway of the bathroom.

"She took some so that's a start I suppose?" Lexa replied unsure. Anya shrugged and they waited for the tub to fill. A few minutes later, Clarke was sick. She emptied her stomach into the small trash can Anya had barely managed to put beneath her.

"Her body must be rejecting the blood..." Anya pointed out.

"That's never happened before. She needs our blood to survive! That's how it's always been!" Lexa growled, her panic rising. How were they supposed to replenish Clarke's energy reserves if she was rejecting what would keep her alive?

"Easy. Let's try the bath and see if that helps. Then we can try to have her feed again. It might not be what we think. Maybe she just got sick." Anya suggested, soothing Lexa's worry. Lexa nodded and let Anya take Clarke, following her sister as she disappeared with Clarke into the bathroom. Clarke whimpered softly as Anya set her down in the cold water but remained unconscious. They watched and waited, removing her from the water once she began to shiver and repeating the process until it felt like her fever was slowly starting to go back down.

When Anya was satisfied with Clarke's decline in temperature, she drained the water and the pair dried Clarke off and changed her into something lighter and dryer to wear.

"Let's try getting her to feed again." Anya decided after they returned to the bunks. Lexa nodded, cutting her wrist again. Clarke drank from the wound like she had before and pulled away when she was done. To Lexa's dismay, Clarke was sick again a few minutes later.

"This is not good." Lexa muttered.

"Is it both of us? I want to try having her take from me." Anya wondered, taking Lexa's knife and pulling Clarke onto her lap. Anya made a gash on her under arm and guided Clarke to it. Clarke took again without protest, pulling away afterwards. They waited and after a few minutes Clarke seemed fine. Ten minutes later she was sick for a third time.

"Her body is rejecting it. Or she is. It could be either." Anya sighed.

"What do we do? Why did it take longer with your blood?" Lexa asked. Anya paused.

"That's a good question. Something must've been slightly different." Anya agreed. They tucked Clarke in to the bunk and sat near by, waiting. The blonde was asleep through the night and through the following day as well, though her fever continued to go down until her temperature was back to normal. Clarke was asleep until the third day after she was attacked. Raven and Nyko had checked the bodies of her attackers and found no A.L.I.E. chips in them. Raven suggested the idea that they might've just been bounty hunters commissioned by the Arc. It made the most sense so that's what they decided had happened.

Clarke came too slowly, her body waking up first and squirming slightly as each part of her seemed to come back at its own pace. She opened her eyes hesitantly and looked sluggishly around the room.

"L-Lex... Ahn.." She tried, her voice dry and cracking.

"Here, this will help." Anya told her, helping Clarke take a few sips of water.

"Thanks. What happened? Why do I feel so weak?" Clarke asked, watching them, still groggy and out of it.

"You went off on your own for a bit but on the way back here we think you were ambushed by some bounty hunters hired by the Arc. Aden, Anya and I took care of them and bright you back here. You used your powers too much. You've been asleep for two days Clarke." Lexa explained softly, moving close enough to stroke Clarke's hair.

"Mm." Clarke hummed contently, closing her eyes again as Lexa continued petting Clarke's hair.

"Do you think you want to try moving around for a bit? Just to get your blood flowing a little bit?" Anya asked sometime later. Clarke opened her eyes again and nodded, slowly sitting up. She managed to get to her feet, swaying slightly. Her balance felt off. She took a shaky step and flared her wings to compensate for her balance. Except nothing happened and she would've fallen if not for Lexa and Anya's quick reflexes.

"Oh no." Clarke mumbled.

"Oh no what?" Anya asked calmly.

"I-I can't feel my wings... I tried to open them to get my balance... Something's wrong... Nothing happened... I can't feel my wings!" Clarke stammered, panicking.

"Ok. Calm down, you're ok. Try one of your other powers." Anya soothed, sending a worried look at Lexa who returned similar one. Clarke let out a distressed whimper after a few seconds.

"I can't! They aren't working.. What happened? Why can't I use any of my powers?" Clarke demanded.

"I-I don't know Clarke..." Lexa replied, sitting Clarke back down on the bunk.

"You wouldn't take any of our blood either while you were unconscious. You'd have some and then throw it back up. Maybe that has something to do with it. Your body rejected our blood." Anya explained.

"S-So what now? Am I just normal now? Am I just a regular person again? Am I not a mutant anymore?" Clarke asked, upset.

"I don't know Clarke. We'll have to see. Maybe Raven and Nyko know something. We can have them look at you." Anya replied apologetically. Clarke nodded and let Lexa pull her close. None of them knew what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Thank you for all the comments, you guys are awesome. I love hearing from you all. Thanks as always for reading and I hope you enjoyed this part.
> 
> \- Avid


	6. Surprise Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get more info on Clarke

"So I've been looking into the data we grabbed to find out more about you three, which I might add was very hard to do. All your files were buried and encoded and it was a mess." Raven sighed.

"What did you find? You wouldn't have said anything if you'd found nothing." Anya pointed out.

"There wasn't much to find. Just basic stats on you three under something called 'project drop ship'. You and Lexa have more extensive files. But Clarke's cut out after her third birthday, I'm gonna assume you guys escaped around there." Raven continued.

"That's correct." Lexa nodded.

"According to the files, there's very very limited info on Clarke and her tie to your blood. Any ideas why?" Raven wondered, watching them.

"Abby injected her with the syrum less than a month before we escaped. It was an unforeseen speed bump in our plan." Anya filled in.

"Ah well. Interestingly enough, there were projections in her files for growth. They weren't a hundred percent sure which powers she'd manifest so those are off but I found something interesting in the charts." Raven nodded.

"What did you find?" Clarke finally spoke from her place in Lexa's arms.

"This was supposed to happen. Your body rejecting the blood. They projected it to happen when you were fifteen but if not then, then it would happen closer to eighteen and nineteen." Raven told them. The trio was silent.

"Why?" Lexa asked after a minute or so.

"I'm still working on that, that part of the file's still heavily encrypted. It doesn't say how long it's supposed to last or what can be done to reverse it, just that it's temporary. When I dig up more, I'll let you know." Raven finished, rising from her seat to leave them alone.

"Well that's good news." Anya sighed.

"Y-yeah..." Clarke muttered faintly.

"Clarke... It'll pass. It'll be ok. Anya and I-" Lexa began.

"No! It's NOT ok! What happens if Agents attack us? What happens if we need to go back into the cities? I can't have you two protecting me if the others need you too! I can't... You're not gonna... N-No..." Clarke cut her off, launching herself to her feet and pacing. Her words of protest quickly becoming quick panicked breaths she couldn't control.

"Oh no. Woah there. Easy Clarke. Blue Skies." Anya soothed, getting up and pulling the pacing blonde against her chest. She easily pulled the illusion of flying across Clarke's vision.

"No words, just breathe. You got yourself worked up." Anya continued, running her fingers through Clarke's hair. Lexa stood and wrapped her arms around the two, her front to Clarke's back. She easily matched Anya's breathing.

"Breathe with us Clarke..." Lexa purred softly. It took a few minutes before Clarke had calmed enough for them to let her go.

"You're warm again Clarke..." Lexa mumbled, watching as Clarke went back to pacing.

  
"Raven wants to return to Polis to have better access to her computers. Are we going with her?" Anya asked, breaking the silence.

"Clarke?" Lexa wondered softly.

"I-I can't ride in the rover." Clarke muttered.

"Why?" Anya asked calmly.

"It's too small. It's too cramped..." Clarke shook her head.

"Ok. We can figure something out, Raven's not leaving until the day after tomorrow. She wants to finish up here first." Anya nodded. Clarke seemed to relax at that.

"I can't even feel my Griffin..." Clarke muttered frustrated. She felt hot and slightly dizzy but she wasn't about to show it. She was tired of being babied for the time being.

  
"I-I'm going for a walk. I need to be alone." She announced finally, starting toward the door.

"Clarke..." Lexa began.

"We'll leave you alone if you promise not to leave the fort." Anya stopped her. Clarke's only response was a nod as she disappeared from the room.

"Anya!" Lexa snapped.

"Let her be Lex. She doesn't want to be around us right now. That much is clear." Anya pointed out.

"The last time we left her alone, she was attacked." Lexa reminded, still upset.

"I know. That's why I asked her to stay in the fort. No one here will harm her. I know you want to protect her. I do too. But there's nothing we can do this time. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped." Anya sighed. Lexa flopped back onto the bed with a loud sigh, defeated.

"I wonder what'll happen when it's past though. Her blood lust will come back. But how bad will it be?" Anya wondered aloud.

  
Clarke stomped down the halls of the fort. She didn't get why this was supposed to happen. What purpose did killing her blood lust for a bit have? She hoped Raven would find the answers in the files. Her feet took her to Bellamy's vault.

"Where are Lexa and Anya?" Lincoln asked after greeting her with a nod.

"They're busy being mother hens. I can take care of myself." Clarke growled. Lincoln held his hands up in surrender and pulled the heavy door open, quickly showing her the knock for that day. Clarke stepped inside and he closed the door behind her.

"Hey Clarke." Bellamy greeted softly. He was still bound to the chair.

"Hey Bell. How are you feeling?" Clarke asked, sitting down a few feet in front of him.

"My shoulders ache but it's no biggie. O's been in to see me and she eats dinner with me. Raven stops by too. So far everything seems good. I'm excited to finally go home." Bellamy told her with a smile.

"I'm glad. I guess it's a good thing I didn't kill you in the woods then." Clarke gave him a small smile in return.

"What's wrong?" He asked her concerned.

"I don't know. My powers are gone." Clarke sighed.

"What?!" Bellamy demanded.

"According to the files Raven and Monty managed to pull from the Arc, this was supposed to happen to me at some point. It's temporary but we don't know why or for how long. Lexa and Anya keep fussing over me like I'm a child!" Clarke growled.

"Woah there Clarke. Easy." Bellamy warned, shrinking in his seat.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Your eyes. They just went gold... Like a glowing gold. They're blue again now but when you seemed mad... And the air changed too" Bellamy tried to explain. Clarke stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm not kidding Clarke." He promised.

"Well then. That's new." She noted.

"Maybe it's like a mutant power puberty phase?" Bellamy suggested.

"So what, like I'll grow more powerful by the time I get my powers back?" She scoffed.

"Hey, it's possible. You never know. You, Lexa, and Anya, you guys are different from the rest of us. With you guys it seems like anything is possible." Bellamy shrugged.

"Thanks Bell." Clarke smiled and pushed to her feet. She went and hugged him before moving away.

"C-Clarke... Look out! I can't..!" Bellamy called out as he felt his body try to move on its own again. Clarke turned to face him with golden eyes and he froze.

"Stay there. You won't try that again."Clarke ordered firmly, her eyes seeming to pulse angrily. Bellamy felt himself nodding quickly. He watched as Clarke swayed on her feet, the gold fading back to blue as she fainted.

"Lincoln! O! Raven! Anyone! Clarke needs help!" He yelled, trying to make as much noise as possible.

  
"Lexa!" Octavia came pounding down the halls to the bunk room.

"What is it Octavia?" Lexa asked.

"It's Clarke! Sh-She was in the vault with Bellamy and-" Octavia began to explain before Lexa pushed past her and ran toward the vault.

"Let's go then." Anya sighed, getting to her feet and letting Octavia set a quick pace to the vault room.

  
"What did you do?" Lexa demanded angrily, staring daggers at Bellamy as Nyko looked Clarke over.

"Commander! I didn't do anything! I was about to, so I warned her but..." Bellamy shivered at the thought.

"But what?" Lexa asked.

"Her eyes glowed gold and she compulsed me or something so I stayed still. Th-Then she fainted and I started yelling for help." Bellamy tried to explain.

"How? She doesn't have any powers..." Lexa wondered.

"It happened before I let her in too. She got angry and her eyes glowed gold. She didn't compulse me, but I saw her eyes glow." Lincoln agreed.

"I told her about it when she got mad before she left." Bellamy added. Lexa was silent.

"She's just fainted. If what you said is true, then it's truly begun." Nyko reported, moving away from Clarke.

"What's begun?" Anya asked, joining them in the vault with Octavia.

"I'm sure Raven will be able to find more out about it with her hacking, but from what I understand, Clarke's begun to ascend." Nyko told them.

"Ascend? Into what?" Lexa demanded.

"I don't know, I'm sorry. My knowledge is limited." Nyko apologized.

"How do you know? Raven hasn't said anything." Anya asked.

"I still keep a brief correspondence with Gustus Hallows. I was his lab assistant in the Arc for a period of time. When you escaped, we used the chaos to allow me to flee as well so he would have someone to hang the blame on to keep his position. We still speak in brief heavily coded messages. He mentioned this before, a long time ago." Nyko admitted.

"I knew you seemed familiar!" Anya exclaimed.

"Do you still work for the Arc then?" Lexa demanded, stepping toward him

"No! Nothing like that! I'm a mutant too. When Gustus figured that out while I was under him, he tasked me with keeping data on you three to continue tracking the programs progress without further harming you. I worked with Jake Griffin briefly as well to compare notes. You three have become far more than what you were made to be." Nyko quickly clarified.

"So what is this Ascension?" Clarke asked weakly from where she shakily sat up. Dark blood trickled from her left nostril.

"I don't know but I can find out. After you escaped, Gustus pulled some of the programs resources under the disguise of finding you. Instead he found something else out. The projections for you, Clarke, were horribly wrong. You three are pretty much super mutants, just like you were supposed to be. BUT Gustus figured out that when your blood lust stopped, it would mark the birth of your Ascension into something far more dangerous and far more powerful. After yours becomes complete, Anya's will follow and then Lexa. From what I understand, you are the next step of evolution itself. The Ark doesn't know that as far as I'm aware." Nyko explained.

"Jesus.." Clarke mumbled, swaying again.

"Clarke, let me-" Lexa hurried to try and help her to her feet.

"No! I am not a child I WILL NOT be coddled like one, powers or now powers, you WILL STAY!" Clarke growled, her eyes pulsing an angry gold. Lexa felt herself freeze and shrink away, taking a few steps back. Anya felt herself dip her head in submission, as did Bellamy, Lincoln, Octavia, and Nyko. Clarke fell back onto her side, barely conscious as the gold faded. Thick hot blood streamed steadily from her nose as the spell broke and both Lexa and Anya hurried to her.

"What the fuck was that?" Anya demanded, taking two rolls of tissue from Nyko to stop the bleeding.

"I don't know. Clarke? Can you hear me?" Lexa asked gently, turning her attention to the blonde.

"L-Lex..." Clarke whimpered faintly.

"That's good. We're going to move you back to the beds." Lexa smiled softly, easing Clarke into her arms. She felt a weak nod against her chest as she stood. Anya led the way back in silence, watching as Lexa tucked Clarke back into bed. As Lexa moved away, Clarke whined softly in protest. Lexa returned to the bed, pulling Clarke's head into her lap and running her fingers through slightly sweaty blonde locks.

"Ahn.." Clarke rasped, looking sleepily at the older woman.

"Yeah yeah. I'm here too kid." Anya sighed, pulling up a chair to the bed. She took the shaking hand Clarke extended out to her and watched as the little blonde finally fell back asleep.

"God help us all." Anya muttered to herself. Lexa nodded in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here's the next chapter! It's got a bunch of plot stuff in it, I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you to all my wonderful readers and commenters, I love hearing from you guys!
> 
> \- Avid


	7. Ascension Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It truly begins

Thankfully, everyone decided it might be better to remain at the fort after all until Clarke had finished ascending. Since she'd fainted it had been a week and needless to say, she was bored and still just as powerless. Thankfully, Lexa and Anya stopped fussing as much over her.

"I hate this." Clarke muttered for what was easily the hundredth time as she paced.

"We know princess." Anya sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Nyko thankfully got a hold of Gustus's notes so we know what you're in for now." Lexa reminded.

"But that said up to a month! Lexa it's been almost two fucking weeks!" Clarke growled. She was snappier than usual and her breathing was harder as she paced. She'd been feeling herself weaken since the incident with Bellamy. But she wasn't about to tell Anya and Lexa, they'd just start fussing again.

"Clarke, you're going to walk a dent into the floor, Come sit or something for a while, Anya's about to go get lunch for us anyway." Lexa soothed, reaching for her. Clarke ignored her, pacing was the only way to make the shaking stop. Anya rose to her feet with a huff and shoved Clarke into Lexa, leaving the room once Lexa had a hold of her.

"What's on your mind Clarke?" Lexa asked gently as Clarke pulled away.

"I'm tired of everything Lex." Clarke growled, pacing again. She glanced over at Lexa and felt her eyes snap to Lexa's neck and the thick vein pumping sweet lifeblood from her heart. She quickly shook her head to clear the thought from her mind. Her body was rejecting the blood right? So why would she suddenly feel so predatory?

"Talk to me." Lexa pleaded softly. She could almost see the cogs in Clarke's mind spinning but she didn't know why. Clarke had closed herself off since she stopped feeding.

"What is there to talk about? I can't do this... I'm going for a walk." Clarke shook her head and left the room before Lexa could stop her. Clarke headed to the room Raven had found and claimed as her own. She needed to talk this out with someone who wasn't Lexa or Anya.

"Clarkey, hey." Raven greeted opening the door at Clarke's knock.

"Can we talk?" Clarke asked softly. Raven looked at her confused before inviting her in.

"Of course? What's wrong griffin?" Raven replied, sitting her down on a couch she'd had brought from the Raven's nest back in Polis.

"It's been almost two weeks... And I keep feeling weaker and weaker... I keep pacing because it's the only way to stop myself from shaking like a leaf... I can't tell Lexa... Or Anya... They'll only get even more over protective..." Clarke sighed.

"This Ascension thing sounds pretty shitty." Raven decided. Clarke gave her a tired smile and a nod.

"You're right Ray. Something else happened earlier and I'm worried..." Clarke agreed.

"What?" Raven asked in return.

"Every time I glance over at someone, my eyes zero in on their jugular and how juicy and delicious and alive it looks... Like prey... Just... Sitting there..." Clarke mumbled staring intently at Ravens neck.

"Woah there Clarke... Focus." Raven warned, scooting back slightly. Clarke remained silent, staring at her.

"Ok.. Well, I'm just gonna grab something from over here and-" Raven began, hurrying to grab something from the other side of the room, not taking her eyes off of Clarke. The blonde watched her, like a cat sizing up its prey before launching herself across the room at Raven.

"Shit you're fast!" Raven cursed, diving out of the way as Clarke hit the wall where Raven had just been standing. Raven hurried to the other side of the room and hit a button on the device she had grabbed. A thick glass wall appeared between her and Clarke, effectively trapping the homicidal blonde on one side of the room. Clarke crouched and examined the new barrier apprehensively, before adjusting to throw herself at it.

"I wouldn't do that-" Raven began, wincing as Clarke bounced off the wall with a loud electric zapping sound.

"I tried to tell you." Raven sighed as Clarke stayed back. Once was apparently more than enough to decide that not touching the wall was a good idea.

"Octavia! Go get Lexa, Anya, Nyko, and Lincoln!" Raven ordered into a walkie talkie.

"What happened Ray?" Octavia demanded.

"Clarke. Just hurry." Raven replied quickly, turning her tension back to the soft growling coming from the box.

"Easy Clarkey." Raven soothed, moving closer to the glass. Lexa and Anya were the first to arrive, hurrying into the room.

"What happened?" Lexa demanded.

"I've got her contained now, but something tells me her bloodlust is back full force." Raven answered.

"What makes you say that?" Anya asked curiously.

"Well, she's feral and tried to hunt me for my jugular before I got her in the box so I mean. If that's any indication. While she was still herself she said she was feeling weak." Raven shrugged.

"What do we do?" Raven asked at the sisters silence. There was another thudding sound, followed by a zapping noise, another thud, and a pained grunt and the trio turned their focus to Clarke who sat gingerly in the middle of the box. She carefully grew closer to the glass but didn't touch it and stared out at them.

"I would say try having her feed but that seems like it'll probably pose a significant risk to both of your health." Nyko replied from the door of the room. There was another soft thud that drew the fours attention back to the box as Clarke fell onto her back and started spasming, white foam bubbling from her mouth.

"She's seizing! Raven open the glass!" Lexa demanded. Raven hurried to let down the glass, allowing Anya, Lexa, and Nyko to rush to Clarke.

"Hold her as still as possible." Nyko ordered the pair who did as they were told. He gently stuck a syringe into one of Clarke's arms and pushed the plunger down.

"Let her go, let her go. What I just gave her should help." Nyko told them. Lexa and Anya released their hold and the three waited.

"There. She's stilling. Raven put the glass back up just in case. We'll knock when you need to open it again." Nyko suggested, watching Clarke. Raven nodded and with a slight slam, the glass wall slid back into place. Nyko up the back of his hand to Clarke's sweat forehead before checking her pulse as her eyelids fluttered slightly.

"She has all the symptoms of an addict going through withdrawals but from what?" Nyko wondered.

"Our blood? Raven said she had talked about feeling predatory." Anya suggested.

"I'm going to try giving her a little bit to see if that helps." Lexa warned, pulling her knife from her pants. She cut a small slice in the tip of her pointer finger and let some of the blood drip into Clarke's mouth. Clarke swallowed and whined desperately, starting to seem slightly more conscious.

"That's a good sign I think?" Lexa wondered. Nyko and Anya could only shrug helplessly in response.

"Shh... It's ok. Come here Clarke." Lex soothed, pulling Clarke into her lap and making a decent sized gash in the crook of her neck. The blonde latched onto the bleeding wound and growled softly. Lexa hissed as Clarke's teeth became hooked and sank into her neck.

"Lexa..." Anya warned.

"N-Nnn... It's... It's ok..." Lexa groaned softly, her eyes rolling back in pleasure.

"That's new..." Nyko noted, looking at Lexa's neck. Stemming from the bite were golden trails as the venom traveled through Lexa's veins.

"Is that the actual venom?" Anya wondered.

"I believe so. It's evolved. I'm not sure if that will remain a permanent thing or if it's only part of the Ascension." Nyko replied. Clarke pulled away from Lexa coughing and managed to drag herself a few feet away before rolling onto her back and gasping for air.

"I think she's choking!" Anya exclaimed, hurrying to the blonde's limp form with Nyko on her heels. Clarke took one last gasping breath and fell completely still her chest rising and falling for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun Dun DUN! What will happen now? Is Clarke actually dead? Sorry for the lapse, my life's been busy and my writers block is a bitch. I hope I can get more out soon, I'm so sorry. 
> 
> \- Avid


	8. Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke's Ascension and a little bit of Clarke and Aden fluff

Clarke came too with a groan, opening her eyes only to close them again at the brightness of the world around her.

"Hey there Kiddo." A familiar voice greeted and she felt someone crouch down next to her.

"D-Dad..?" She wondered in shock.

"That's right Clarke. Open your eyes honey." He agreed and she could hear the smile in his voice. Slowly Clarke tried again to open her eyes, a figure swimming above her before everything came back into focus.

"Daddy!" She gasped at the crouching figure of Jake Griffin and threw her arms around his shoulders. He chuckled, hugging her back and then helping her to her feet.

"B-But you're... Dead... How is this possible..?" Clarke wondered hesitantly, pulling away.

"You're right, but I'll get to that. Just stand still for a minute so I can look at you! You've grown so much..." Jake replied wistfully, walking around Clarke a few times.

"It's so hard without you..." Clarke sighed as Jake pulled her close to his chest again.

"I know kiddo. I miss you too. I'm glad I got to say my goodbye that day. If you're here that means one of two things." Jake began, resting his head on top of Clarke's.

"One: You're dying. Or Two you're almost finished Ascending." He continued.

"I was ascending... My body wouldn't take Lexa or Anya's blood..." Clarke told him, feeling a nod in response.

"They probably gave you night blood which is why you're here. This is limbo. The in between of life and death. The serum in their night blood needs to finish bonding with your cellular make up to complete your Ascension. So technically right now, you're just a little dead." He explained thoughtfully.

"Just a little dead?" Clarke repeated with a tired chuckle.

"Just a little." Jake agree'd.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Nyko, this isn't working!" Anya growled, stopping the CPR she had been using on Clarke to try and restart the blonde's heart.

"Then it truly is time. This is up to Clarke. Either she'll accept the night blood serum and finish ascending, or she won't." He sat back on his heels watching Clarke's limp form closely.

"Ahn-Anya..." Lexa mumble softly, reaching blindly for the older sister.

"I'm here Lex. Glad to see you're back." Anya sighed, moving to her sisters side and taking her hand. The golden venom trails were starting to fade as the high left Lexa's system.

"Clarke..?" Lexa croaked, opening her eyes to look at Anya.

"She's... She'll be ok hopefully. We just need to wait." Anya replied cautiously.

"I'm going to move her to the bunk room. Octavia will stay with her until you two are ready to relieve her." Nyko decided, gently scooping Clarke up in his arms and knocking on the glass.

"Don't... Don't let Aden see her. Not like this." Lexa begged softly. Nyko nodded and disappeared from the room.

"Whenever you're ready Lex. Don't force yourself, you could get hurt." Anya warned as Lexa moved to sit up.

"Here Commander." Raven joined them, handing Lexa a bottle of water. Lexa took it great fully and drank half of it before stretching.

"Thank you Raven." Anya replied on Lexa's behalf.

"No problem. So what now?" Raven wondered.

"We wait." Lexa answered and the three sat in silence.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dad?" Clarke wondered after a while.

"What's on your mind sweetie?" Jake asked in reply.

"Tell me about mom. You owe me that much. Every time I asked you about her before you always spoke like she was dead if at all about her. But now I know she's alive... And she wants me back. Lexa and Anya said she's a horrible person but I don't know what to think... Tell me the truth." Clarke begged, looking up at him. Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair. He'd been waiting for this day deep down inside.

"Ok. Your mothers name is Abigail Paige Griffin. She was my wife. Is my wife, I never filed for divorce, there wasn't time. The woman I fell in love with, that I asked to marry me was a brilliant Doctor... She never would've done any of this to a child... Let alone our child... Baby I'm so sorry... I didn't know... I just handled finances... Investors and stock..." Jake began, pulling Clarke closer to him.

"It's ok Dad... Lexa and Anya told me that much." Clarke comforted looking at him to continue.

"When they asked us to donate genetics, I didn't know that the actual specimens would be alive... A person... My daughter. Clarke was my Fathers name and we thought it was unisex so that's what we chose for the specimen name... Your name. Abby and I were trying for a baby and that's the name we were going to with for that too. So one day we could tell our kid that we named something after them. You know... When I dreamed of having a little girl, she was exactly like you. But Abby would try to push her into med school but I knew our kid would be an artist. And she'd double major or just forge her own path. Regardless she'd make me proud... And even though that's not how life worked out, I'm still so proud of you Clarke. You make me proud to be your dad every day you keep fighting." Jake continued fondly.

"Daddy...." Clarke could feel tears forming in her eyes at her fathers words.

"Abby or at least the Abby I knew isn't an inherently bad person. She's brilliant and cunning, but not a bad person. That doesn't excuse her actions. Let me make one thing clear Clarke. Abigail Griffin may be your mother, but she will never be your mom. No matter what she says or what she does to try and trick you. You are a lab monkey to her and I know that must hurt to hear but don't let her fool you. You aren't her baby." Jake warned.

"Did you know about Aden?" Clarke asked.

"Aden..?" Jake repeated confused.

"He's your son. My little brother. He's like me. He has powers and he's amazing." Clarke replied.

"I have a s-son..?" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah. I'll take care of him Dad. But he's yours. I don't know how or when or why but that's how it is. Peek in on him too every so often from your spot in the clouds ok?" Clarke sighed. Suddenly it felt like electricity was coursing through her as a golden glow enveloped her.

"I guess our times up kiddo. I'll see you again." Jake smiled taking a few steps back.

"Dad! Wait!" Clarke called suddenly scared as she reached out for him.

"It's ok. Go on back Clarke, you've got a lot of work to do. Take care of Aden... Tell him I'm sorry I never got to know him or see him grow... And that I love you both... You two make me so proud. I'll see him someday too." Jake assured her and then everything went black.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lexa had recovered enough to lead Anya back to the bunks after almost and hour and a half.

"Raven, can you keep Aden busy? Just until Clarke's... Better..." Lexa requested.

"Got it. I'll teach him more Raven stuff." Raven grinned and hobbled away.

"Commander." Octavia greeted respectfully as they arrived.

"Any changes?" Lexa demanded. Both Octavia and Nyko shook their heads.

"Lex..." Anya began. Lexa shook her head and pulled up a chair to sit next to where Clarke laid. The room was silent for hours, Lexa refused to move from Clarke's side. Without warning, a golden glow surrounded Clarke, lifting her six inches off the bed. Her wings glowed gold and flared out to their full span. A golden ring formed above the top of Clarke's head and hovered an inch above her scalp.

"Clarke...?" Lexa began.

"Not yet." Nyko shushed her gently. The four watched, covering their eyes as the glow became brighter and brighter until it was blinding and they could no longer see the girl it emanated from. Then as quick as it had come, the light was gone and Clarke fell gently back onto the bed.

"Clarke..?" Lexa tried again. She smiled as she saw the blondes eyelids start to flutter until hazy blue met worried green.

"L-Lexa..." Clarke mumbled, reaching shakily for her. Lexa took Clarke's hand between both of her own, peppering kisses on Clarke's knuckles.

"You had us scared Princess." Anya grinned putting a hand on Lexa's shoulder.

"Lexa..." Clarke tried again. Her throat felt dry as sand paper and her body felt weak.

"She's still a bit warm. More night blood should fix that right up. Just be careful." Nyko reported.

"If there end up being any final touches of the Ascension, this will help her." Nyko gave Lexa a leather pack of capped syringes, before getting up and leaving the room.

"Are you going to be ok with feeding?" Anya asked worried. Clarke nodded knowing her voice couldn't form words at the moment.

"My neck's still pretty bruised... Is it ok if we just take from my arm for now?" Lexa asked shyly.

"Yeah. Whatever you want..." Clarke rasped.

"Lexa, you need to recover the amount Clarke took from you a few hours ago. I got this." Anya sighed. She sat on the bed and got comfortable with her back to the wall.

"Come on blondie. Let's just get this over with." Anya huffed as Clarke moved into her lap and nuzzled against the side of her neck. Anya hissed softly as Clarke's fangs hooked and buried themselves into the soft flesh of Anya's neck. Golden trails spiraled away from the bite as the venom had Anya moaning in pleasure beneath Clarke. After a few minutes Clarke began to whine and squirm, pulling away from Anya as pain tore through her spine. Clarke moved onto her belly and writhed as golden letters carved themselves into the skin on her spine.

"Clarke! Hey... Hey.... It's ok. Nyko left us something for this ok?" Lexa soothed, pulling out one of the needles and gently sticking Clarke with it. Golden trails flowed from the injection site, following Clarke's veins as whatever Nyko had given them went through Clarke's blood. Clarke's writhing calmed as her eyes started to roll back into her head. Small whimpers escaped Clarke's lips as the euphoria rocked her in waves. Lexa smiled slightly and stroked Clarke's hair, the golden lettering on her back fading to black like the ink of a normal tattoo.

"Lexa..?" Anya asked confused as she saw Clarke.

"I think Nyko made something from Clarke's venom. He left it in case there were any bugs left behind from the Ascension so I gave her some. She's not used to it like we are." Lexa explained.

"Ah. Welcome to the other side of the fang Clarkey." Anya smirked

"L-Lexa..." Clarke panted as she started to come down.

"I'm right here niron..." Lexa purred, stroking Clarke's hair again.

"I saw my dad..." Clarke mumbled, looking dizzily up at her.

"When?" Lexa asked confused.

"Before I woke up... Aden... We talked about my mom and Aden... Where is he?" Clarke wondered.

"We had Raven and the others keep him busy. It wouldn't have been good for him to see you the way you were." Anya answered.

"Can he come now? I have to tell him what my dad said." Clarke insisted, trying to sit up.

"Oh no. I'll go get him, stay down. Watch her Lexa." Anya stopped her, hurrying from the room.

"Easy Clarke. You need to rest." Lexa reminded. Anya returned moments later with Aden over her shoulder.

"Put me down Anya!" Aden whined.

"Have it your way." Anya grinned, dumping him in her chair by the bed.

"Aden." Clarke mumbled.

"Clarke! You're ok! I was worried but they wouldn't let me near here then Raven started showing me cool computer stuff..." Aden rambled on happily causing Clarke to smile.

"I saw our Dad." Clarke began softly. Aden paused and looked down at his lap.

"Your dad... I never knew him." Aden shrugged.

"Our dad. I told him about you. He didn't know but he was so happy. Before I came back he told me to tell you a few things." Clarke continued.

"He did?" Aden asked shyly.

"Yep. He said he loves you and that he's proud of you. He also said he's sorry he never got to know you... That he never got to see you grow... He said you'll see him some day when your fights over and that when you do, he'll answer all your questions... He hopes you don't hate him." Clarke admitted.

"He really said to tell me that..?" Aden wondered, meeting her gaze.

"He really did. He loves you so much and is proud of you. And he can't wait to meet you someday. Maybe teach you how to play catch with a baseball or some cliche thing like that that dads and sons do. That's who he was." Clarke smiled.

"I think I'd like that... Some day. But we have fights to win first." Aden nodded determinedly, wiping the tears from his eyes. He has a dad that loves him and is looking out for him from the clouds.

"That we do little griff." Anya agree'd ruffling up his hair.

"Get some rest Clarke. I'm gonna go back to Raven. We're gonna go back to Polis to get more info from the files." Aden hugged Clarke gently before leaving the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo another chapter. I'm trying. I'll get to all the comments you guys left me soon. Thank you for reading and for your patience.
> 
> \- Avid


	9. Lazy Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy and Charlotte become friends. Raven plans. Clarke is frustrated.

“When did you get a tattoo on your back Clarke?” Aden asked confused, seeing the black ink as Clarke stretched.

“I have a tattoo on my back?” Clarke asked confused.

“Oh. That was why I got you with the stuff Nyko made with your venom Clarke.” Lexa yawned.

“What is it?” Clarke wondered, trying to twist and see.

“Its a word or maybe a phrase in some language none of us recognize.” Anya smirked, amused by Clarke’s struggle to see the ink.  
  
“Let me see, sis.” Aden sighed. Clarke nodded and pulled up the back of her shirt.

“Its beast speech. The verbal word is Wanheda. In english, the commander of death.” Aden translated easily.

“Commander of death?” Clarke repeated. Aden nodded.

“We’re all ready when you guys are.” Raven announced, poking her head into the bunk room.

“Lets go then.” Lexa nodded, rising to her feet. The other three followed and they let Raven lead the way to the rover.

“I don’t know about all of you, but I’ll fly. I’ll meet you there.” Clarke told them, flaring her wings.

“Flying? Hell yeah. Me too.” Aden agreed, doing the same. The siblings took off before anyone could protest and Lexa sighed with a slight smile.

“Raven, think you can beat them back?” Anya challenged. Raven gave her the biggest grin she’d ever seen before nodding.

“Get the hell in the car and hold on like your life depends on it, because it does! We have ground to cover!” Raven yelled, jumping into the drivers seat. Needless to say, the rover ride back to Polis was hell on wheels and an unsuccessful endeavor as Clarke and Aden stood in front of Lexa’s cabin laughing as the rover tore into the settlement.

“You guys had like five minutes on us that wasn’t fair.” Raven protested.

“Its ok Ray.” Clarke comforted still amused. Lexa saw it before Clarke even walked up the stairs to disappear inside. Clarke’s wings had trembled with a sudden pain and Lexa raced after her, barring the door to the cabin. She found Clarke on her belly, writhing in pain on the floor. The bottoms of her wings were hidden by nearly blinding golden light.

“Clarke!” Lexa exclaimed, hurrying to her side as she started to shake, white foam forming at her mouth, blue eyes rolled back into her head. Lexa moved quickly, sticking Clarke with more of the Venom mix Nyko had given them for ascention related bugs. The shaking stopped as golden trails followed Clarke’s veins, the venom over riding any pain and Clarke breathed easier.

“There you go...” Lexa sighed in relief, running her hands over Clarke’s back and shoulders to soothe her.

“Lex... Lexa...” Clarke whined as she came back to herself, her hands finding Lexa as she’s pulled against the girl’s chest.

“Hey.” Lexa greeted with a smile.

“What..?” Clarke asked confused.

“Your wings. The ends are gold now. I guess it was just another bug from your ascension. Hopefully they pass soon. And we need to talk to Nyko about when we’ll know when Anya and I are going to start seeing ascension symptoms. We don’t need blood like you do.” Lexa answered. Clarke nodded and looked at her wings to find that Lexa was right.

“Is that what you feel like every time I bite you?” Clarke wondered softly.

“Yes. But its okay Clarke.” Lexa promised.

“It’s really intense...” Clarke noted, pulling away from Lexa to get back to her feet.

“It is. But Anya and I are used to it, really. The high makes it a lot easier. It doesn’t hurt us like you probably think it does.” Lexa assured her as Clarke stretched her arms up over her head and extended her wings to their full span.

“What do we do now?” Clarke wondered. Lexa hummed softly for a few seconds before answering.

“We wait.” She shrugged.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next few days are surprisingly calm and Bellamy is welcomed back to Polis by everyone who knew him before. Everyone is told what had happened and many of them have questions. Bellamy does his best to answer what he can and tries not to take it personally when some give him looks of apprehension. He gets it, he really does and spends his time between the Raven’s Nest and Nyko’s work space.

“I... I don’t think we’ve met... Unless we did when i was an agent... If we did meet like that I’m sorry. I don’t remember. I’m Bellamy.” Bellamy tripped over his words as he tried to introduce himself to the shy girl he’d noticed helping Nyko.

“We haven’t met. I-I’m Charlotte... I’m still sorta new... Clarke saved Aden and I from the Agents two months before she saved you...” Charlotte explained timidly, still looking down at her feet.

“Clarke’s good at saving people like us, huh?” Bellamy asked with a smile and was pleased when he got a small one from Charlotte in return.

“She is. What... What can you do? You must be one of us if she was away so long to help you...” Charlotte asked, finally daring a look up at him.

“I can run really fast. Like super fast.” Bellamy tells her proudly and Charlotte giggled at his boasting.

“Charlotte! I need your help!” Nyko called from somewhere across the house and the two jumped at the sudden noise before laughing.

“I gotta go. I’ll see you around if you get hurt, Bellamy.” Charlotte told him before running off to Nyko. Bellamy finds himself smiling before standing again and wandering off toward the Raven’s Nest.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It’s over the next few days, during the quiet pauses that Charlotte finally told Bellamy that she understood him better than most in Polis might.

“What do you mean?” He asked confused. He was curious about her powers and had noticed her gloves from day one.

“You did thinks you didn’t mean as an Agent... You didn’t have control... My power is like that... I wear these because I kill people by touching them. Its only in my hands now. But back when it wasn’t I was always scared... I couldn’t control it and I didn’t want to hurt anyone... I always wanted to be a doctor... Here I can be. Nyko’s really patient and because he knows Gustus he’s taught me how to use my powers for good instead of bad.” Charlotte admitted, looking down at the gloves.

“I think thats a cool power. How has he taught you to use it?” Bellamy wondered, curiously.

“Thanks to Gustus at the Arc, I can sort of control the speed it kills with... In surgeries with really bad injuries, Nkyo and I have been practicing using my powers as slowly as possible to locate dead flesh so we can cut it away from the patient. I’ve also been practicing killing tumors with it. Nyko thinks that as I get older and have more control I might not even need to wear my gloves any more.” Charlotte told him happily.

“Thats awesome!” Bellamy exclaimed and Charlotte nodded.

“You... You can always come talk to me about Agent stuff if you want to... I understand the no control thing. It can be tough. Nyko isn’t sure if you’ll get memories from then back, but if you do, we can find ways to use them to hurt the bad guys.” Charlotte promised, running off again as Nyko called for her help.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Clarke was frustrated as she trained with Octavia. It had been a week since they returned from the fort and there was nothing new to be found on the Arc or the Ascensions. Nyko was still waiting to hear back from Gustus and Raven and Monty were out of files to decrypt from the run they made to the city. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a rough punch to the gut.

“Focus Clarke! You usually block those easily!” Octavia called and Clarke bit back a growl in response.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Commander.” Raven greeted as she stood in the doorway of Lexa’s tree house.

“Raven. What is it?” Lexa asked with a sigh.

“Monty and I wanted to get permission for another attack on the Arc’s firewall. We need more information. “ Raven admitted slowly.

“I see... And who would you take with you? It’d be a different city this time.” Lexa wondered, watching Raven closely.

“I want a bigger team than last time. It’d be Monty and myself, the Miller family, Octavia, Lincoln, Clarke, and I’d like to bring Aden as well.” Raven told her, standing her ground.

“Why so many?” Lexa mused.

“When we split into groups I want Lincoln, two Octavia’s, and Brian with me. Monty would have an Octavia and big Miller with him. And can teach Aden how to do what we need to on the computers so his group would be Nathan Miller and Clarke with him. Three groups. Makes us harder to pin down and we could grab more info than before.” Raven explained.

“How long would you be gone?” Lexa continued, thinking it over.

“The same as before. No longer than five days. It’ll only take me two to teach Aden so by the third we’d be pretty much ready to go and then its a day or so each way so maybe a week tops.” Raven calculated.

“Okay. Fine. But bring everyone back safe. Take a truck and a jeep. You’ll go east this time. You leave in two days. Go tell everyone you need.” Lexa decided.

“Thank you commander. We won’t fail.” Raven nodded and hurried off.

‘ _I hope not...’_ Lexa sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it been a super long while since I’ve updated, I suck. I’m so sorry. Life sucks and i know the clexa fandom is much smaller and much quieter now. If anyone does still read this I hop you enjoyed the chapter and I want to finish this one so there will be more soon, theres still a long way to go. Thanks as always for reading.  
> \- Avid


	10. Power Surge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ascention sucks. Its almost over. Night time is always the best time for bad things to happen.

After leaving Lexa’s cabin, Raven moved as quickly as she could, thankful that the first person the ran into was Octavia.

“O!” Raven called out, stopping the younger girl.

“Hey Rae. What’s up?” Octavia asked, still sweaty from her workout with Clarke.

“We’re going on another city run. Me, you, Monty, Lincoln, the Millers, Aden, and Clarke. We leave in two days. Can you spread the word? You move faster than I do.” Raven requested and Octavia shot her a grin before splitting up and running off. With Octavia’s help, everyone invited knew of the mission before nightfall.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Clarke! Clarke! Did you hear?! We’re going on a mission!” Aden exclaimed excitedly, nearly tackling Clarke in his excitement.

“I heard. I’m surprised Lexa agreed to let so many of us go.” Clarke yawned. Night fell around the two as they walked through camp.

“Raven said we’re splitting into three groups this time! She’s gonna teach me how to hack!” Aden explained eagerly.

“She must think you’re smart if thats her plan. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” Clarke promised, pulling him into a hug.

“We protect each other.” Aden agreed, hugging back before pulling away and rushing off towards Anya’s cabin. Clarke chuckled, shaking her head. She winced every couple of steps as she finished her walk back to Lexa’s cabin. Lexa was waiting for her as Clarke entered the cabin, sitting up sleepily against the wall on the bed.

“Were you waiting up for me?” Clarke asked softly, getting an exhausted nod from Lexa as the older girl held her arms open. Clarke changed into her sleeping clothes, biting back the groans of pain she felt forming as she moved.Once she was done, Clarke moved onto the bed and crawled into Lexa’s arms, letting Lexa lay them down with a contented hum. Lexa’s hum turned into a soft purr as Clarke got comfortable with her back against Lexa’s front. It wasn’t often she got to be the little spoon and she smiled when she felt Lexa’s breath against the side of her neck.

“You’re warm...” Lexa murmured, pulling away slightly.

“I’m okay. My core temperature has been higher since I ascended.” Clarke soothed, putting her arms over Lexa’s where they rest around her hips.

“You’re sure?” Lexa asked, sounding much more awake.

“Sure enough.” Clarke mumbled.

“Clarke...” Lexa sighed, sitting up to look down at the blond.

“Please, can we just sleep...?” Clarke whispered, not looking at Lexa.

“If you need to-“ Lexa tries.

“I don’t.” Clarke growled back, cutting her off. Clarke got up and moved to the door.

“Please don’t run from me. You don’t need to run from me, ai niron...” Lexa pleaded, catching Clarke’s wrist and stopping her. She doesn’t miss the small hiss of pain that escapes Clarke’s lips before she can stop it.

“Lexa.” Clarke warned in a low voice as a tremor shook her.

“What’s wrong? Please let me help you. We do things together, Clarke.” Lexa reminded gently, not shrinking away as a growl rumbled up from Clarke’s throat.

“I... Can’t...” Clarke forced out through gritted teeth, pulling her hand from Lexa’s hold with another pained hiss.

“Show me.” Lexa begged. There’s a moment of silence before Clarke finally caved.

“Lock the door...” Clarke sighed and Lexa nodded, sealing the door firmly. Once she was sure it was secure, she turned her attention back to Clarke. Clarke winced as she pulled her shirt off over her head, stopping Lexa’s move to help her with a glare. Lexa swallowed hard a the look but forced herself to stay where she was.

As soon as the shirt was off, Clarke reached down around her belly and after a few seconds found the hem of the skin tone undershirt she had on. It blended in with her skin flawlessly and because of that, looked rather scary coming off. Clarke failed to bite back the whine of pain that came out as she peeled off the undershirt and tossed it to the ground.

“Clarke...” Lexa began.

“Not yet. Stay.” Clarke told her firmly, reaching down to tug two wraps of the same material off of her calves.

“Now.” Clarke sighed, standing back up with a groan. As Lexa moves closer she can see the dark purple bruises around Clarke’s throat. Another dark spattering blanket Clarke’s wrists and calves and there are an even angrier looking set on Clarke’s shoulder blades. Lexa growls at the sight.

“Who did this to you?! I’ll kill them myself!” Lexa roared angrily, her voice almost shaking the cabin.

“Calm down. No one did this...” Clarke shook her head and Lexa’s anger melts into confusion.

“What do you mean? How did these happen?” Lexa asked, concerned.

“I’ve been itching to use my powers... The urges... They’ve been getting so strong... Trying to control the urge to go all out with my powers... Then they started fighting back... Suddenly I had to stop my hands from shifting and oh did they try... Fighting my body to keep my wings hidden and they ache so bad... I had to swallow down the noise waves of a scream because I felt one trying to form... A shield tried to fight its way free of my skin... And the invisibility... The bruises started every time I pushed one of my powers down... They get darker each time... This didn’t happen before...” Clarke explained, breaking off to gasp in pain as the bruises on her shoulders got a few shades darker. She could feel her wings spasming again and dropped to her knees.

“Oh no no no no no...” Clarke groaned, curling in on herself.

“Clarke, look at me. Look at me.” Lexa ordered, crouching in front of Clarke and cupping the blonds face in her palms.

“Lex...” Clarke whimpered, meeting Lexa’s gaze before squeezing her eyes shut again in pain.

“What is it? What’s hurting you like this?” Lexa asked, trying to keep blue eyes on her.

“W-wings... My wings... They’re... AHH!” Clarke tried, her words melting into an agonized howl.

“Okay... Just let them free. I’ll help you contain your wings, just extend them.” Lexa soothed.

“N-N... You... You don’t... Understand... If I let... One through... They’ll all... All go... I won’t... Won’t be able... To control...” Clarke tried to explain, pleading with her eyes.

“Do you trust me?” Lexa asked.

“Of course I do!” Clarke exclaimed.

“Then let me do what I’m supposed to do. I can contain you. I will make sure you don’t hurt anyone. Okay?” Lexa promised.

“At... At least get... G-get...” Clarke begged, curling in on herself again before she can finish.

“I’ll get Anya, if thats what it’ll take. Just stay here for a minute.” Lexa agreed, understanding. Lexa stands and gives Clarke one last look before running out the door. She hurries to Anya’s cabin and bursts through the door, shaking her older sister awake.

“Wha..?” Anya wondered groggily.

“Clarke. It’s an emergency!” Lexa replied urgently and Anya instantly becomes more awake, rushing to her feet.

“Where?” Anya demanded.

“My cabin.” Lexa called over her shoulder in reply as she turned and ran back with Anya on her heels.

“What do you need me to do?” Anya asked as they stopped at the door.

“Nothing can go in or come out of this door until I tell you it’s clear. If Clarke tries to come out without me, you need to stop her fast.” Lexa explained. Anya nodded and let Lexa through the door before blocking again.

“Clarke, Anya’s outside. It’s okay now. Let go.” Lexa pleaded, rushing back to Clarke’s side. She takes one of Clarke’s hands between her own as Clarke finally free’s her wings with a whine. They extend to their full wingspan easily but there was a tearing sound and Clarke tried to muffle the scream of pain as a second set grew out just below the first.

“Shhh... I know... I’m sorry...” Lexa murmured, rubbing the small patch of skin between where all four wings connected to Clarke’s back and shoulders.

“It’s not... Not over yet... This is... Is the beginning...” Clarke choked out. Before Lexa could speak again, a large force field rippled out of Clarke’s skin in thick waves. It expanded quickly, pushing through the walls and roof of the cabin in an angry bubble before it began to grow and shrink in various pulses.

“L-Lex... You... You’re going to want to get... Under me for this...” Clarke warned, sounding nauseous.

“Clarke?” Lexa asked, alarmed.

“Under.” Clarke repeated, pulling Lexa close and crawling into her lap.

“Lay down... You’ll get hurt if... You don’t.” Clarke ordered, pushing Lexa down onto her stomach.

“Ears... Cover them...” Clarke instructed, turning paler. Lexa hurried to do as she’d been told. Once her ears were covered, Clarke rolled onto her back on top of Lexa and a scream tore its way from her throat, the noise escaping in heavy waves that seemed to bounce off of the force field and around the cabin. Clarke protected Lexa from the worst of it until she had hardly any voice left.   
She groaned as she felt her body start to shift and transform, growing and shrinking. Her hands became paws and then hooves and then paws and fins, her body seeming content to shift through every animal she could think of and then some.

Lexa sat up and held Clarke as best as she could through every shift, wincing at every groan of pain that came from the girl in her arms. It was only after almost three hours, an hour and a half after Clarke passed out, that everything finally stopped. As soon as the shield came down, Anya rushed in.

“What was all of that?” She demanded.

“A power surge of sorts. Clarke said she was losing control of her powers. Turning them internally was hurting her physically... She needed to let them go.” Lexa explained softly, keeping Clarke cradled against her. The blond was limp in her arms and covered in a sheen of sweat. She was still pale and her skin almost burned to the touch. Her breathing was shallow and her wings quivered weakly against the floor.

“She looks like she’s in rough shape.” Anya noted and Lexa nodded.

“So. I thought you should know that I’m not the only one outside.” Anya began slowly.

“What do you mean?” Lexa growled.

“It was the scream. Raven, Bellamy, Octavia, Lincoln, Indra, Aden, and Nyko all rushed over here. They’re outside still. They wanted to wait with me.” Anya explained.

“Send them away... Tell them I can explain tomorrow but that they aren’t to speak of this to Clarke. She was stressed enough...” Lexa sighed. Anya nodded and moved back to the door.

“Wait! Send me Nyko and Indra...” Lexa called after her, changing her mind. Anya nodded again and disappeared through the door. Two minute later she returned followed by Nyko and Indra.

“What happened?” Indra asked as Nyko crouched by Lexa and began checking Clarke over.

“A power surge it looks like.” Nyko answered before Lexa could.

“What do you know, Nyko?” Lexa asked, tiredly.

“The power surge is the final note of the process. She should be back to normal after this or there could be one or two more surges. Never more than three. But once they’re done she’ll be alright again.” Nyko answered with a nod.

“Why did you summon me, Heda? I’m no healer.” Indra wondered.

“That’s true. But I need to deal with Clarke and I need Anya in here for that. I need you to protect us while I do. Nothing comes in that door.” Lexa orders as Nyko leaves.

“Sha, Heda.” Indra nodded and moved to stand guard on the doors other side.

“Four wings?” Anya wondered.

“Yeah. Thats new.” Lexa agreed, standing and lifting Clarke with her. Lexa sets Clarke on the bed on her belly, thanking Anya as the older sister brings her a damp cloth. Lexa dragged it across as much exposed skin as she could before turning her attention to Clarke’s wings. She straddled Clarke’s hips and gently started massaging the tight muscles with her hands, moving from one wing to the next and taking the time to finish by soothing the area around where they all connect.  
Lexa smiled as Clarke let out small contented noises in her sleep as Lexa worked. When Lexa was finished with everything she sighed.

“You’re stalling.” Anya noted.

“I know.” Lexa growled. She moved back against the wall to get comfortable before pulling Clarke into the space between her legs, letting the blonds head rest against the inside of Lexa’s left thigh. Lexa felt around under her pillow for her knife, cutting a deep gash into her left thigh with a hiss.

“Should... Should I leave for this?” Anya wondered hesitantly.

“No. I need you here. If I start to look like I’m dying, I need you to deal with Clarke.” Lexa shakes her head as Clarke moves to latch onto the wound, her fangs thankfully absent.

“Okay.” Anya agreed. It isn’t long later that the wound closes and Clarke sleeps comfortably with her arms around Lexa’s hips and her face against Lexa’s lower belly.

“Thank you...” Lexa mumbled, looking sleepily at her older sister.

“No problem. Get some sleep. I’ll go let Indra know she can rest now.” Anya waved her off and disappeared through the cabin door. Lexa fell into a light sleep, hoping the next day would pass quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s another one. I think the next chapter is going to be the mission into the city at that’ll be a fun one. I hope you guys liked this one and I’ll have more up soon. Thanks for reading. Be safe, happy pride month!
> 
> -Avid

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I decided to turn this into a series because that way it'll be easier for me to keep track of. I hope you guys keep enjoying this as you have so far...  
> \- Avid


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